
RTrD IS86, J-O.AVtL&CO. PHfL'A . 



GRANDMA'S FAVORITE CUP, 



INTRODUCTION. 

As every housekeeper knows the value of a reliable 
Cook Book, and treasures it, the undersigned has collected 
together herein only such recipes as will prove of practical' 
use. 

In addition to the foregoing, will be found various infor- 
mation on subjects of interest to every family, and with the 
hope that the book may prove an acceptable daily companion 
to the housewife, he subscribes himself, 

Respectfully, 

M. DeVICK, 



LOOK WITHIN! 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION 

FOR ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR. 



CAREFULLY COMPILED 

BY 

M. PEVIC PC 



Good wives are made, old maids made good, 
By learning how to cook men's food ; 
For husbands, brothers, soon can tell 
Which angel rules the household well. 

fe , . — — _' s^^mm 

': . i Jul 2s\m 

PHILADELPHIA I ^»»*L W A 5 H ' * ' " 

JOHN D. AVIL & CO., PRINTERS, 
3941-43 45 Market Street. 




HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION 

FOR ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR. 



Nellie's Ginger Wafers. — One cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of 

molasses, half a cup of made coffee, two teaspoonfuls of soda, one teaspoonful of 
ginger. 

Sugar Cookies. — One egg well beaten in a teacup, three tablespoonfuls water, 

six tablespoonfuls melted lard ; put this in the cup with the egg, fill up with sugar 
(granulated is best), one teaspoonful baking powder ; mix stiff and roll thin. 

Currant Biscuits. — One cup of cornstarch, one and a half pints of flour, one 

quarter of a cup of sugar, one-quarter of a cup of lard, two teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder, two eggs, one cup of dried currants, half a pint of milk. Roll out the 
dough half an inch thick, cut round, lay on a greased baking-tin and bake twenty 
minutes in a hot oven. 

Orange Jumbles. — Rind and juice of two sour oranges (rind of one only, if 

preferred) ; grate the rind. One and one-half cups finest granulated sugar, one 
egg, one-half cup butter, one-half cup cream, sour and thick, one teaspoonful soda 
dissolved in the cream, four cups of flour or according to the size of the oranges. 
Roll thick as jumbles and sprinkle sugar on. 

SuOW Flake Cake. — Half a cupful of butter, one and a half of sugar, two of 

pastry flour ; one-fourth of a cupful of milk, the whites of five eggs, one teaspoonful 
of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, or a teaspoonful and a half of baking 
powder, the juice of half a lemon. Beat the butter to a cream. Gradually add 
the sugar, then the lemon, and when very light, the milk, and whites of the eggs, 
beaten to a stiff iroth ; then the flour, in which the soda and cream of tartar are 
well mixed. Bake in sheets in a moderate oven. When nearly cool, frost. 

Frosting : The whites of three eggs, two large cupfuls of powdered" sugar, half a 
grated cocoanut, the juice of half a lemon. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add 
the sugar, gradually, and the lemon and cocoanut. Put a layer of frosting on one 
sheet of the cake. Place the other sheet on this, and cover with frosting; or, 
simply frost the top of each sheet, as you would any ordinary cake. Set in a oool 
place to harden. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



5 



Silver Cake. — One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, the whites of three 
eggs, half a cupful of corn starch dissolved in nearly half a cupful of milk, one and 
a fourth cupfuls of flour, half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-fourth of a tea- 
spoonful of soda, and vanilla or almond flavor. Beat the butter to a cream, and 
gradually beat in the sugar. Add the flavor. Mix the flour, cream of tartar and 
soda together, and sift. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add the corn-starch and 
milk to the beaten sugar and butter ; then add the whites of the eggs and the flour; 
mix quickly and thoroughly. Have the batter in sheets, and about two inches 
deep. Bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour. A chocolate frosting is 
nice with this cake. 

Pound Cake. — One-half pound of flour, one-half pound of butter, one-halt 
pound of white, pounded sugar, four eggs, and flavor with lemon. Beat the butter 
to a cream, taking care to beat it all one way ; add the sugar and flour, and lastly 
the eggs, well beaten. Beat the mixture for twenty minutes. Cover the cake-tin 
with buttered paper, and bake in a moderate oven. 

Noyelty Fruit Cake. — One-half of a cupful of butter, one cupful of sugar, 
two eggs, three-quarters of a cupful of milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 
raisins, currants, citron and spices ; make into a dough leaving out the raisins, 
currants, citron and spices; divide into three parts; bake two layers of the 
plain dough, mix the raisins, chopped fine, the currants, citron and spices with the 
remaining third of the dough, and bake; put the layers together with frosting be- 
tween, and the dark layer in the centre. 

Almond Cake. — One pound of butter, one of sugar, one of flour, two of sweet 
almonds, blanched and pounded, half a pound of desiccated cocoanut, the juice 
and grated rind of one large lemon, ten well-beaten eggs and a gill of wine 01 
brandy. 

White Rose Cake. — Sugar, one-half cup ; whites of six eggs, one-half cup of 
sweet milk, one tablespoonful cream tartar, one half teaspoon soda, two and a half 
cups flour ; beat the eggs first, then sugar, with one half cup butter ; dissolve the 
soda in the milk ; lemon to taste. 

Jelly Roll. — Make the sponge cake mixture as for lady-fingers, and bake in 
one shallow pan twenty minutes. While it is yet warm, cut off the edges, and 
spread the cake with any kind of jelly. Roll up, and pin a towel around it. Put 
in a cool place until serving time. Cut in slices with a sharp knife. 

Black Cake. — Three cupfuls of butter, one quart of sugar, three pints of flour, 
half a pint of molasses, half a pint of brandy, half a pint of wine, oae teaspoonful 
of saleratus, one ounce each of all kinds of spices, twelve eggs, three pounds of 



6 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



raisins, two of currants, half a pound of citron. Bake in deep pans, in a moderate 
oven, between three and four hours. This is one of the best of rich cakes. 

Corn- Starch Cake. — Rub well together one cup of butter and two cups sugar, 
add the whites of six eggs beaten to a froth. Stir in one cup of sweet milk, two 
cups of flour in which have been thoroughly mixed two teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
or two of cream of tartar, and one of soda. Flavor with lemon ; lastly, stir in one 
cup of corn- starch. The above makes an excellent cake. 

Ten-Minute Cake* — One-fourth of a pound of butter, a little less than a pound 
of flour, the same of sugar, six eggs beaten separately ; flavor with mace, or other 
flavoring to taste, and bake in mufhn-rings. 

Delicious Cake. — Two cups white sugar, one cup butter, one cup milk, three 
eggs, three cups flour. Stir butter and sugar together and add the beaten yolks of 
eggs, then the beaten whites. One teaspoonful of baking powder. 

Christmas Cake. — One pound of flour, half pound of currants, half pound 
of butter, half pound of sugar, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, three eggs, half 
pint of milk. Mix the baking powder thoroughly in the flour, then rub in the but 
ter, add the sugar, currants and flavoring, beat the eggs and mix them with the 
milk, and after mixing them all thoroughly together bake in a papered tin in a 
moderate oven; flavor with lemon. 

Pearl Cake. — Whites of three eggs, one teacup of white sugar, one teacup 
of flour, one teacup of corn flour, half a teacup of butter, half a teacup of milk, two 
spoonfuls of baking powder; flavor with lemon. Beat the butter to a cream, add 
the sugar and other ingredients, and lastly the eggs (whites only), well beaten. 
Bake at once in a moderate oven. 

Scones. — One pound flour, quarter of a pound of butter, half a small teaspoon- 
ful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful of soda, quarter of a teaspoonful tartaric acid, 
and flavor with lemon. Mix with milk, and roll out half an inch thick, cut with a 
tumbler, and bake about fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Berkshire Cookies. — One cupful of molasses, a teaspoonful of soda, — dissolve 
in a half cupful of cold water, — a dessertspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of melted 
butter, one dessertspoonful of ginger, flour enough to roll out to the thickness of 
an inch. Bake in a quick oven for about ten minutes. 

Molasses Drop Cake. — One cupful of molasses, three cupfuls of flour, half a 
cupful of butter, and one teaspoonful ot soda; flavor with lemon. Beat the ingre- 
dients together thoroughly, and drop in spoonfuls upon a buttered tin. Bake five or 

six minutes. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



7 



Soft Ginger Bread. — One coffee cup of molasses, half cup of lard, one tea- 
spoonful soda, dissolved in teacup boiling water, tablespoonful ginger, salt, sifted 
flour enough to thicken. Cannot be excelled either for goodness or economy. 

Cinnamon Soft Gingerbread. — One cup molasses, half cup sugar, small piece 
butter, one egg, one tablespoonful ginger, half tablespoonful cinnamon, half cup 
sour milk (or sweet with two teaspoonfuls cream tartar), one teaspoonjul soda. 

A delicious cake for tea to be ate hot with butter. Take two eggs, beat the 
whites to a froth, then add half a cup of butter, and one of milk to the yolks and 
beat well, then add the whites and flour enough to form a good batter and two tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder and a little salt. Bake in a turk's head. 

Kiss Wafers. — Half a pint of blanched bitter almonds, one heaping cupful of 
powdered sugar, the whites of six eggs, one- third of a cupful of flour, two table- 
spoonfuls of corn starch. Blanch the almonds and pound them in a mortar. As 
soon as they are a little broken add the white of an egg. Pound until very fine. 
When there is a smooth paste add the sugar, a little at a time, the whites of two eggs 
one at a time, and the flour and corn-starch. When thoroughly mixed, add by de- 
grees the three remaining whites. Butter the bottom of a flat baking pan and put 
the mixture on it in spoonfuls. Spread it very thin, especially in the centre, and 
bake in a quick oven. The moment the cakes are taken from the oven, roll into 
the shape of cornucopia. If allowed to cool they cannot be rolled, and for this 
r eason it is best to bake only half a dozen at a time. When all are shaped, fill with 
the kiss mixture, made by beating the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, and stir- 
ring into them, lightly, four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Place the wafers in 
a warm oven for twenty minutes or half an hour, to dry. With the quantities 
given two dozen can be made. 

French Cake. — One cupful of sugar, one quarter of a cupful of butter, one- 
half cup of milk, two eggs well beaten, one and a half cups of flour, one teaspoon- 
ful of cream tartar, one-half teaspoon of soda ; one cup of currants, a few slices of 
citron, teaspoonful of mace or nutmeg. Bake in thin sheets frost and cut in 
slices. 

LOTer^S Layer Cake. — Take three eggs and one cup of sugar, beat until light, 
then add nine tablespoonfuls of water, add flour enough to make a thin batter, two 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder mixed with the flour. Beat very little after the flour 
is added. Add a pinch of salt. Bake in jelly pans. This makes three layers. 

Mixture for between the Layers : — Boil half pint of milk, thicken with 
corn- starch, add the yolks of two eggs, reserving the whites for icing, flavor with 
orange or vanilla, and sweete. .~ .<tste. 



8 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Icing : — Take the remaining whites of eggs and beat to a stiff froth, add quarter 

of a pound of sugar ; have ready one grated cocoanut and some walnuts broken in 
very small pieces. Now spread mixture between layers, and icing on top and 
sides, throw cocanut over the icing then the walnuts. 

Martha Washington Tea Cake. — One and one-fourth pounds white sugar, 
one and a half pounds butter, two pounds flour, one pint sour milk, six eggs, 
grated rind of two lemons, the juice of one lemon, one nutmeg, a little mace, one 
pound raisins, one pound currants, and one and a half pound citron. Beat the but- 
ter and sugar to a cream, to which add the yolks of the eggs well beaten, then put 
in the milk and the flour alternately, then the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth ; 
flavor the fruit and stir in last. Bake two and a quarter hours ; cover with buttered 
paper to keep from browning too fast. 

Fairy Cake. — One cup of butter, two of white sugar, four of flour, one of 
sweet cream, the whites of seven eggs and a little baking powder. Flavor with 
lemon or rose water. 

Railroad Cake. — Take six tablespoonfuls melted butter, one and a half cups 

flour, four eggs, six tablespoonfuls milk, and two teaspoonfuls baking powder. 

Puff Cake. — Take two and one-half cups white sugar, three eggs, one-half cup 
butter, three cups flour, one cup milk, and one and a half teaspoonfuls baking 
powder ; flavor to your taste. This quantity is sufficient for two small pans. 

Feather Cake. — Take two cups sugar, one-half cup butter, two-thirds of a 

cup milk, three cups flour, three eggs and three teaspoonfuls baking powder ; flavor 
with lemon or vanilla. This is a very nice cake. - 

Composition Cake. — One pound flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, 
one-half pound butter, four eggs, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one-half cup 
milk, with nutmeg, raisins and currants. 

Chocolate Cake. — Two cups sugar, one cup butter, yolks of five eggs and 
whites of two, and one cup milk. Thoroughly mix two teaspoonfuls baking pow- 
der with three and one-half cups of flour, while dry ; then mix all together. Bake 
in jelly tins. 

Mixture for Filling : — Whites of three eggs, one and a half cups sugar, three 
tablespoonfuls grated chocolate, one teaspoonful vanilla. Beat together and spread 
between the layers and on top of the cake. 

Sugar Frosting" for Cakes. — One and a half pounds of powdered sugar, 
half a pint of water, a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and flavor with vanilla. 
Put the sugar, water and butter in a pan, boil eight minutes, take orT the stove, put 



10 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



it in a bowl, add flavoring, stir it till it thickens, then spread on the cake ; this 
frosting can be used instead of cream for layer cake. 

Minnie's Half Hour Cake. — A most delicious cake, light as a feather, can be 
made after the following receipt, which can be eaten with fruit or ice-cream, or can 
be used as strawberry, chocolate, jelly or cream cakes : 

Three-quarters of a cupful of butter, two cups sugar, one and a quarter pints 
flour, five eggs, one teaspoonful baking powder, one cupful sweet milk. Rub the 
butter and sugar to a white, light cream ; add the eggs, two at a time, beating five 
minutes between each addition. Sift the flour with the powder, which add to the 
butter, etc., and the milk. Mix into a rather thin, smooth batter, and bake in jelly 
cake tins well greased in hot oven fifteen minutes. When cold, spread cream, 
jelly, or fruit between each layer, and either sprinkle with powdered sugar over 
the top or use icing. 

Lady Elizabeth's Queen Cake. — One pound of sugar, one pound of fresh 
butter, fourteen ounces of finely sifted flour, eight eggs, one wine glass of brandy 
and rose water. Stick almonds in icing on top. 

Patti's Lunch Cake. — Blanch one pound of almonds, beat them in rose- 
water, one pound sugar, whites of eight eggs. Drop on paper, sift sugar on them. 
Bake in slack oven. 

Rose-Bud Cake. — Five, cups flour, three cups sugar, two cups butter, five 
eggs, yolks and whites separately, one-half teaspoonful soda, one-half cup milk, 
one-half cup rose-water. 

Julia's Cake. — Six cups sugar, nine cups flour, one-half cup milk, one-half cup 

brandy, three-quarters of a pound of butter, eleven eggs ; cover with icing mixed 
with eight tablespoonfuls rose-water. 

Star-Light Cake. — Whites of twelve eggs, one pound sugar, three-quarters of 
a pound of flour, six ounces butter, one wine glass and a half rose-water; cover 
with icing and almonds. 

King" Sponge Cake. — One-half pound flour, one pound sugar, eight eggs 
(beaten thirty minutes), three tablespoonfuls vanilla. 

Grandma's Goody Cake. — Three cups sugar, three eggs, one cup butter, one 

cup milk, small lump of saleratus. 

Jumbo Cake. — Six pounds flour, two pounds sugar, one and a half butter, one 
quart milk, thirteen eggs, one pint yeast, three nutmegs ; melt butter in milk, when 
lukewarm add yeast and eggs, let it rise in a warm place about twelve hours. This 
makes a grand cake for a large party. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



I I 



Children's Cheap Lunch Cake. — One cup of sugar, three cups flour, one 
and a half cups milk, one and a half cups lard, four teaspoonfuls of vanilla, one 
teaspoonful soda. This is cheap, but very good. 

Lizzie's Cider Cake. — Three cups of flour, two cups sugar, one cup butter, 
five eggs, one cup cider, one teaspoonful saleratus. 

Martha's Corn Cakes. — Scald one pint of meal ; when partly cooled add half 
a teaspoonful salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, one egg well beaten, and mix with 
sweet milk or warm water, making a thick batter. Then add two teaspoonfuls 
baking powder; stir thoroughly, and bake at once in shallow pans in a quick 
oven. 

Corn Jewels.— One half pint finely- bolted corn meal, one half pint flour, one 
tablespoonful white sugar, a little salt, and two teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix 
together thoroughly while dry. Then add two well-beaten eggs, and cold sweet 
milk and water to make a moderately thin batter. Bake in muffin rings. 

Indian Waffles. — Half a cupful of Indian meal, two cupfuls of boiling milk, 
two eggs, one generous cupful of flour, one tablespoonful of butter, half a tea- 
spoonful of baking powder, half a teaspoonful of salt. Pour the boiling milk on the 
meal and butter. Beat well and set away to cool. Mix the other dry ingredients 
with the flour, and sift. Beat the eggs, and add them and the flour to the cold 
mixture. 

Raised Waffles. — One pint of milk, one pint and a half of flour, an egg, a 
teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a yeast cake, or one-fourth of a cupful 
of liquid yeast. Dissolve the yeast in two tablespoonfuls of cold water. Have 
the milk blood warm, and add to it the yeast, salt and the egg, well beaten. Stir 
gradually into the flour. Cover and let it rise four hours. Cook as usual. 

Muffins. — One quart of flour, two cupfuls of milk, half a cupful of sugar, two 
eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of soda, half a teaspoonful of salt, 
butter the size of an egg. Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub 
through a sieve. Melt the butter with four tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Beat 
the eggs light, and add the milk. Stir into the flour, and add the butter. Beat 
thoroughly. Bake in buttered muffin pans from twenty-five to thirty minutes, in 
a quick oven. 

Hominy Muffins. — One large cup white flour, two teaspoonfuls salt and two 
teaspoonfuls baking powder. Mix together while dry. Then add two cups cold 
boiled hominy, beaten smooth; three eggs, one-half cup melted butter, two table- 
spoonfuls white sugar, and sweet milk enough to make a thick batter. Bake 
speedily, 



I 2 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Rice Muffins. — One pint sifted flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder 
and a little salt. Thoroughly mix together ; then add one cup cold boiled rice, 
two eggs, one tablespoonful butter and enough sweet milk to make a thick batter. 
Bake at once. 

Muffins. — With one pint of milk and sufficient wheat flour, make a thick batter ; 

add a little salt, a tablespoonful melted butter, two well- beaten eggs, two heaping 
teaspoonfuls baking powder, and bake quickly in muffin rings. 

Waffles. — Take one quart flour, a teaspoonful salt, a tablespoonful melted 
butter, and milk enough to make a thick batter. Mix thoroughly. Add two well- 
beaten eggs, and two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder ; stir well and bake at 
once in waffle irons. 

Indian Meal Muffins. — Two cups corn meal, one cup of flour, two teaspoon- 
fuls baking powder, and one teaspoonful salt. Stir well together while dry. Beat 
the whites and yolks of three eggs separately, and add one tablespoonful melted 
lard, two tablespoonfuls sugar, and two and one-half cups milk. Then stir in the 
meal and flour prepared as above directed, and beat the whole together very 
quickly. Bake at once. 

firginia Corn Meal Pone. — Mix with cold water into a soft dough, one 
quart southern corn white meal, a teaspoonful salt, and a small quantity of melted lard. 
Shape into oval cakes with the hands, and bake in a very hot oven, in a well- 
greased pan. 

Boston Brown Bread. — Take one quart corn meal, one pint rye flour, one- 
half tablespoonful salt, four teaspoonfuls baking powder and mix thoroughly to- 
gether. Then add half a teacupful of molasses, and fresh milk enough to make 
a soft dough. Divide into small loaves, and bake at once. The proportion of corn 
meal and rye flour may be changed at pleasure. 

Philadelphia Gems. — Take one quart sifted flour, loosely put in, some baking 
powder, a little salt, then sift, and add fresh milk and water, or milk alone, to make 
a thick batter, and drop with a spoon into a baking pan. The mixing should be done 
with a spoon, and the batter should be as thick as can be conveniently stirred. 
Do not mold it. U^e no shortening. Before mixing, set the pan on the stove, 
and let it get hot before using. 

Corn Bread. — One large cupful of dry, fine corn meal, one tablespoonful white 

sugar, a little salt, some baking powder ; sift thoroughly, then mix with one and 
one-half large cupfuls of cold, fresh milk, or water, and add two thoroughly-beaten 
eggs. Bake at once in a shallow pan, or for Gem cakes in a Gem pan. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



13 



Quaker City Rolls. — To each quart of sifted flour add two teaspoonfuls bak- 
ing powder, and a little salt, and then sift. Mix with fresh milk and water, or 
milk alone, making a dough just stiff enough to roll. Bake at once in a quick 
oven. Use no shortening at all. 

Napoleon French Rolls. — One quart sifted flour, a little salt, two teaspoonfuls 
baking powder. Mix thoroughly while dry. Then add enough fresh milk, or 
milk and water, to make a soft dough. Roll out thin and cut into round pieces 
with a teacup or cutter ; then put a small lump of butter into the centre of each 
piece and fold the dough over it like turnovers. Bake immediately. 

Canned Currant Pies.- — Excellent pies are made of canned currants. Take 
one cupful of them, half a cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of flour, beaten with 
the yolks of two eggs. Bake with an under crust, then frost the top with the whites 
of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Be sure to beat the sifted 
flour with the yolks, then there is no danger of little lumps of undissolved flour 
spoiling the good looks of the pie. 

Lemon Cream Pie. — The juice and grated rind of one lemon, one cup of 
white sugar, the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour and rich 
milk enough to fill your plate or pan. This makes a large pie and should be made 
with an under crust only. Bake until nearly done, then take it from the oven and 
spread over it the beaten whites of the two eggs, with two tablespoonfuls of powd- 
ered sugar. Set back in the oven until brown. Eat cool, or quite cold. 

Cranberry Pie. — Prepare as for sauce, stewing two pounds fruit to one pound 
sugar. Pour into a pie-plate lined with paste, cover with a top crust and bake. 

Apple Pie. — Put a crust in the bottom of a dish. Put on it a layer of ripe ap- 
ples, pared, cored, and sliced thin, then a layer of powdered sugar. Do this 
alternately, till the dish is filled. Add a few teaspoonfuls Extract of Rose Water 
and Cloves. Put on a crust and bake it. 

Apple Pie, No. 2. — Pare and stew the apples till thoroughly done and quite 
dry. Rub through a colander, and sweeten with powdered sugar. When cool 
add the whites of eggs — three eggs to a pint of apples — and a teacup of cream, 
whipped. Beat all the ingredients together with a patent egg-whip — one with a 
wheel if convenient. Spread upon crusts of rich paste, baked in shallow tin pie- 
plates. Flavor with nutmeg on each one, and pile up three or four deep. 

Apple Pie Xo. 3. — Pare and slice the apples. Make a little thick syrup of 
white sugar, into which tiirow a few cloves, allspice, or mace, as you prefer. In 
this syrup scald a few apples at a time, taking them out and putting more in till all 



14 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



are slightly cooked. Set aside to cool, then pour into deep pie-plates lined with 
paste. Dredge with flour. Put bits of butter over all. Dredge again. Cover 
with paste and bake. A glass of brandy or wine will improve it. 

Custard Pie. — Corn starch, one teaspoonful ; sugar, two ; one egg ; milk, a 
quart. Boil the milk in the double boiler, add the starch and sugar ; when it is 
all boiled five minutes let it cool, then add the egg well beaten, nutmeg, and a 
little butter ; line some plates with pie crust, pour in the custard and bake. 

Molasses Pie. — One teacup molasses, one teacup sugar, four eggs, four table- 
spoonfuls butter. Flavor with Vanilla. Mix sugar and eggs together, pour in 
butter and molasses, and flavor with the extract. 

Sweet Potato Pie. — One pint potatoes boiled and mashed with a teacup sweet 
milk, and run through a colander. Beat separately four eggs ; one teacupful cream, 
one of sugar and a little butter. Beat in the yolks, then the potatoes, and nutmeg, pour 
in a wineglass of brandy or good whisky, and last of all, stir in the frothed 
whites. Bake in deep pie-plates, lined with paste, without a top crust. Sift powd- 
ered sugar over the pies. Irish potato pie may be made in the same way, only 
adding the juice and rind of a lemon. 

Apple Custard Pie. — Peel sour apples and stew until soft, and very little 
water left in them ; then rub through a colander; beat three eggs for each pie to 
be baked, and put in one cup butter and one of sugar for three pies ; flavor witli 
nutmeg. 

Sour Apple Pie. — Take nice tart apples, slice them ; flavor with cinnamon. 
Fill the under crust an inch thick; sprinkle sugar over them; add a spoonful or 
two of water. Cover with a thin crust, and bake three-quarters of an hour, in a 
moderate oven. 

Lemon Cream Pie. — One teacupful pulverized sugar, one tablespoonful butter, 
one egg, the juice and grated rind of one lemon, one teacupful boiling water and 
one tablespoonful corn starch dissolved in cold water. Stir the corn starch into 
the boiling water, cream the butter and sugar and pour over them the hot mixture. 
When cool add lemon and the egg. Take the inner rind off the lemon and mince 
very small. Bake without any top crust. 

Plain Pie Crust or Paste. — Flour, a pound ; fat, four ounces, and water. 
Put the flour into a bowl, and work it into a smooth paste with water; divide the 
fat into four parts ; roil out the paste ; put over it in rows one portion of the fat in 
pieces the size of a bean ; flour it, fold over the edges, and again roll it ; repeat 
the whole again three times, dredging a very little flour over the paste, and rolling 
thin each time ; do not touch with your hands any more. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION, 



Orange Pie.— Pulp and juice of two oranges, a little of the grated peel, the 
yolks of three eggs, one cupful sugar, one cupful milk. Stir the yolks with the 
sugar, then a tablespoonful of butter, then the juice, lastly the milk. Bake in a 
dish. After the pie has cooled, spread on it the whites of the three eggs, stiffly 
frothed and sweetened. Then set it again on the fire, to brown slightly. 

LeillOIl Pie. — Two lemons, six eggs, two teacups sugar, two tablespoonfuls of 
flour, one teacupful boiling water. These will make two pies. Grate off the yel- 
low rind of the lemons ; throw away the thick, white skin ; cut up the remainder 
of the lemons very fine, being careful not to lose the juice. Add to this the sugar, 
the yolks of the six eggs, well beaten; then the flour, mixed in a little water, and 
lastly, the boiling water. Pour this mixture into the lined pie-pans and bake. Pre- 
pare an icing with the whites of the eggs ; when the pies are nearly done, spread 
on top and bake a light brown. 

Pumpkin Pies. — Take a small pumpkin, or half of a large one, stew long and 
slowly, then strain it, after peeling and cutting it in small pieces. Mix with this 
quantity of pulp one quart of sweet milk, three eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of 
corn-starch mixed; first smooth with a little of the milk. Salt, sugar, and ginger 
must be put in to taste. A large cup of sugar is about right ; one nutmeg. The 
ginger is indispensable to a genuine pumpkin pie. If part cream can be used, the 
pie is much richer, as well as more delicate in flavor. Bake with an under crust 
only. 

Graham Pudding. — One and one-half cups of Graham flour, one-half cup of 

molasses, one-quarter cup of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, one egg, one tea- 
spoonful of soda, one cup of raisins seeded. Add spice and salt to the taste, and 
steam three hours. 

Bird^S-iSest Pudding. — Pare rive apples, enough to fill the pudding dish, re- 
move the cores with an apple-corer, and steam until tender. Make a custard of 
three eggs and milk enough to nearly cover the apples ; sweeten to taste, add salt 
and nutmeg to season, and bake until the custard sets. 

English Plum Pudding.— A pound of suet, chopped fine ; a pint of sugar, 

one pound of grated stale bread, one pound of raisins, two of currants, a glass of 
brandy, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, two nutmegs, half a pint of milk, a little salt. 
Beat well and steam five hours. Serve with rich sauce. 

Raehael Pudding. — One quart of bread crumbs, one of apples, cut very fine, 

half a cupful of suet, chopped very fine ; one cupful of English currants, the rind 
and juice of two lemons, four eggs, well beaten Mix thoroughly. Grease a pud- 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



17 



ding mould and put the mixture in it. Steam three hours, and serve with rich 
wine sauce. 

Bread Fritters. — One pint of milk, one egg, one- quarter of a pound of flour, 
bread, jam. Make a batter with the milk, egg and flour. Cut some slices of bread 
rather thin, in small pieces, spread half of them with jam, and cover with the other 
slices ; dip them into the batter, and fry in boiling lard till of a light brown color. 
Serve very hot, and sprinkled with white sugar. 

SllOTV Pudding. — Soak half a box of gelatine for one hour in half a pint of 
cold water ; then add two cupfuls of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of extract of lemon, 
and half a pint of boiling water. When cool, but not thick, add the whites of 
three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Set the dish in another of ice -water, and beat 
until thick and white. Turn into a mould and set away to harden. 

Pudding'. — Six large apples pared and chopped, six large spoonfuls of grated 
bread crumbs, six table-spoonfuls of sugar, six of currants, six eggs, a wine glassful 
of wine, or dissolved jelly, a teaspoonful of extract of nutmeg, cinnamon and 
cloves, quarter of a pound of butter, and three tablespoonfuls of flour. Put in a 
pudding mould or small tin bucket, and boil three hours. 

Baked Apple Pudding. — Fill a three-quart earthen dish with pared and 
quartered apples. Sprinkle on these one cupful of sugar, a slight grating of nut- 
meg, one tablespoonful of butter, and half a cupful of water. Cover a.nd bake 
thirty minutes. Make half the rule for chopped paste. Roll a piece of the paste 
into a strip that will reach around the pudding dish. This strip should be about 
two inches deep. Roll the remainder of the paste to cover the dish. Take the 
pudding dish from the oven, slip the strip of paste between the apple and the dish, 
and put on the top crust. Return to the oven and bake one hour longer. Serve 
with a cream sauce. 

Tapioca Pudding. — Soak two-thirds of a cup of tapioca in warm water until 
soft; boil one quart of milk; when boiling, stir in the tapioca, with the yolks of 
three eggs, well beaten ; sweeten to taste. Boil until thick, stirring carefully ; then 
beat the whites to a stiff froth ; half cup of pulverized sugar. Spread over the top, 
set in the oven to brown ; flavor with vanilla. Eat cold. 

Charlotte Russe, a la. — Take one-fifth of a package of gelatine and one-half 
cup of milk ; place over the fire and stir gently until the gelatine is dissolved ; 
pour into a dish and place where it is cool ; take one pint of cream and whisk 
with an egg beater, until it is thick ; flavor the cream with vanilla or wine, and 
sweeten to taste. When the gelatine is cool, strain into the prepared cream ; line 
a mould with lady fingers, then pour the cream in until it is filled ; cover with lady 
fingers and ice the top. 



18 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Italian Cream. — One quart fresh milk, one pint of rich cream, one ounce of 
isinglass. Boil the milk and isinglass, and make very sweet. Strain and flavor 
delicately with lemon or vanilla. When cool add the cream, whipped very light. 
Stir in quickly, and put away to mould. 

Yelvet Cream. — Dissolve half a box of gelatine in a coffee cup of milk over 
the fire ; add the juice and grated peel of one lemon. When the gelatine has dis- 
solved put in a coffee-cup of white sugar. Let it cool slowly ; strain it and add 
one and one-half pints of rich milk. Stir until cool, then pour into a mould pre- 
viously wetted. 

SllOW Cream. — One-half box of gelatine, the whites of three eggs, a teacup 
of white sugar. Flavor with vanilla. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth ; 
pour a pint of boiling water on the gelatine. Let it cool, but do not let it get 
stiff. Beat it into the eggs and sugar. 

How to Make " Whipped Cream." — Beat the yolks of five fresh eggs and 
half a pound of powdered sugar until very light and white ; put One pint of milk 
and one ounce of isinglass in a saucepan and boil ten minutes, stirring continu- 
ally; flavor with vanilla and lemon mixed, or any other flavoring; pour the milk 
on the eggs and sugar ; put on the fire, stir well together, but do not let boil ; pass 
through a fine hair sieve into a round dish, when cold set on ice, add two liquor 
glasses of Maraschino ; keep stirring rapidly all the time ; when it begins to 
thicken stir into it a pint of cream, whipped to a froth ; put into a mould on the ice 
until you wish to use it. 

Lemon Sauce. — Two cups hot water, one cup sugar, three heaping teaspoon- 
fuls corn-starch, grated rind and juice of one lemon, and one tablespoonful of 
butter, Boil the water and sugar five minutes, and add the corn-starch, wet in a 
little cold water; cook eight or ten minutes, and add the lemon rind, juice and 
butter; stir until the butter is melted and serve at once. 

Delicious BlailC-Mange. — Put an ounce of gelatine in a little warm water, 
and keep it on the stove until dissolved; then sweeten one quart of cream, add 
lemon or vanilla, and whip it. Strain the gelatine on the cream. Wet your 
moulds in cold water, fill them and set them away. 

Wine Sauce. — One half pound butter, yolks of two eggs, beaten well and 
creamed with the butter ; nine tablespoonfuls nice brown sugar ; two glasses of 
wine. Let it simmer on the fire a short time, and flavor with nutmeg. 

Transparent Sauce. — A coffee-cup of water, a tablespoonful of butter, a cof- 
fee-cupful of white sugar, the whites of two eggs, and flavor with lemon or vanilla. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



19 



Put the sugar, water and butter into a boiler, let it heat ten minutes, stirring it 
well ; let it cool and then beat the whites of the eggs into the cool sauce. 

Lemon Sauce. — One pound sugar, three ounces butter, half a teacup of water, 
sliced rinds of two lemons, and juice of one lemon. Pour this into a saucepan 
and while it is coming to a boil beat the yolks of two eggs and add them. When 
well boiled, take it from the fire and add the whites of two eggs, beaten to a froth. 
To be eaten hot with sponge-cake. 

Foaming' Sauce. — Beat one cup of sugar with a one- quarter of a pound of butter 
until it is light and creamy. Add one well-beaten yolk of an egg, then the white 
well-beaten to a froth. Stir in a wineglass of wine or brandy, or use water and 
flavoring instead. Set the bowl over the tea-kettle until the mixture is as thick as 
cream. Do not boil. 

Bread Omelet. — Put into a stew-pan a teacupful of bread-crumbs, one teacupful 
of cream, one tablespoonful of butter, with salt, pepper and nutmeg ; when the 
bread has absorbed the cream, stir in two beaten eggs ; fry in an omelet pan and 
roll up. 

Teal Croquettes. — Take very fine minced veal, moisten it with cream and a 
beaten egg, season with pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, and a little pounded mace. 
Form it into small cones, either by hand, or in a wineglass ; roll in cracker dust 
and fry. 

Oyster Macaroni. — Boil macaroni in a cloth to keep it straight. Put a layer 
in a dish seasoned with butter, salt and pepper, then a layer of oysters ; alternate 
until the dish is full. Mix cracker dust with one egg, spread over the top and bake. 

Mustard Relish. — Beat the yolks of two eggs, stir into this three tablespoon- 
fuls of mustard, one tablespoonful of cayenne, one of salt, one of oil, one of sugar, 
half cup of vinegar ; beat all well together and cook to the consistency of custard. 
If not thick enough add more mustard, if too thick add vinegar. 

To serye Cold Roast Beef chop the beef up finely and put a layer of the beef 
and a layer of stewed tomatoes, then a layer of cracker dust, and put in alternate lay- 
ers of each until all is in, season with salt, and pepper and bits of butter and then put 
a layer of cracker dust over the top, add a little water and bake a nice brown on top. 

Meats and their Accompaniments. — With roast beef, grated horse-radish. 
Roast pork, apple sauce. Roast veal, tomato or mushroom sauce. Roast mutton* 
currant jelly. Boiled mutton, caper sauce. Boiled chicken, bread sauce. Roast 
lamb, mint sauce. Roast turkey, cranberry sauce. Boiled turkey, oyster sauce. 
Venison or wild ducks, black currant jelly. Broiled fresh mackerel, sauce of stewed 



20 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



gooseberries. Boiled bluefish, white " cream " sauce. Broiled shad, boiled rice 
and salad. Compote of pigeons, mushroom sauce. Fresh salmon, green peas, 
" cream " sauce. Roast goose, apple sauce. 

Chicken Pie. — Take two full-grown chickens, disjoint them, and cut the back- 
bone, etc., as small as convenient. Boil them with a few slices of salt pork in 
water enough to cover them, let them boil quite tender, then take out the breast 
bone. After they boil, and the scum is taken off, put in a little onion cut very fine, 
not enough to taste distinctly, but just enough to flavor a little ; rub some parsley 
very fine when dry, or cut fine when green ; this gives a pleasant flavor. Season 
well with pepper and salt, add a few ounces of good, fresh butter. When all is 
cooked well, have liquid enough to cover the chicken, then beat two eggs and stir 
in some sweet cream. Line a pan with a crust made like soda biscuit, only more 
shortening, put in the chicken and liquid^ then cover with a crust the same as the 
lining. Bake till the crust is done, and you will have a good chicken pie. 

Haill Omelette. — Remains of boiled or fried ham — cold, or minced fine, and 
seasoned, two or three eggs, one cup of milk, flour to make a good batter — about 
four tablespoonfuls, two tablespoonfuls of butter, chopped parsley, pepper and salt. 
Heat the butter to a boil in the frying-pan. Mix the eggs, milk, flour, parsley, 
pepper and salt into a batter, and pour it into the frying pan. Lay in the middle, as 
soon as it begins to " form " the minced meat. Fry rather slowly, taking care that the 
batter does not burn. When done on one side, fold the edges of the pancake over 
to the middle, enclosing the meat, and turn with a cake spatula. When both sides 
are of a delicate brown put the cake " turner " under it, and slip over to a hot dish. 
Send around a little gravy in a boat. 

Brunswick Stew. — Three fine gray squirrels, skinned and cleaned- -joint as 
you would chickens for a fricassee ; one-half pound of fat salt pork ; one onion, 
sliced ; twelve ears of corn cut from the cob ; six large tomatoes, pared and sliced ; 
three tablespoonfuls of butter rolled in flour ; parsley ; enough water to cover the 
squirrels. Put on squirrels, pork — cut up small — onion, and parsley in the water, 
and bring to a boil. When this has lasted ten minutes, put in the corn, and stew 
until the squirrels are tender. Then add the tomatoes, cut up thin. Twenty 
minutes later, stir in the butter and flour. Simmer ten minutes, and pour into a 
large deep dish. 

Baked Beef Steak. — Take the bone from a large sirloin steak ; flatten it with 
the side of a hatchet, wash over the upper side with a beaten egg and spread thickly 
with a force-meat of crumbs, minced ham, and any other cold meat you may have, 
a teaspoonful of minced onion, a pinch of grated lemon peel, with pepper and 
salt, beaten egg and three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk. Work these into a 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



21 



paste before spreading. Roll the steak upon them, binding closely with soft pack- 
thread. Have ready some dripping in a frying-pan, and cook the steak five minutes 
in this, turning as it browns. Now lay it in a dripping-pan with a cupful of boiling 
water; cover and bake forty minutes, basting and turning often. When done, re- 
move the strings; lay the beef upon a hot dish; thicken the gravy with browned 
flour, boil up and pour half over it — the rest into a boat. 

Lobster Croquettes. — Mince the flesh of a lobster, season with salt, spices, 
and a little cayenne. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, mix with it a tablespoon - 
ful of flour, then the lobster and some chopped parsley ; moisten with a little stock* 
until the mixture looks like minced veal ; then stir into it off the fire a couple o^ 
yolks of eggs, and put it by to get cold. When nearly so, shape it into the form of 
corks, egg them, and roll them in baked bread crumbs. After the lapse of an hour 
egg and bread-crumb them again, taking care to preserve the shape. After a little 
time fry them a nice color in hot lard. 

Duchess Soup, — One quart of milk, two large onions, three eggs, two table- 
spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, salt, pepper, two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. 
Put milk on to boil. Fry the butter and onions together for eight minutes ; then 
add dry flour, and cook two minutes longer, being careful not to burn. Stir into 
the milk, and cook ten minutes. Rub through a strainer, and return to the fire- 
Now add the cheese. Beat the eggs, with a speck of pepper and half a teaspoon- 
ful of salt. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Hold the colander over the 
soup and pour the eggs through, upon the butter, and set back for three minutes 
where it will not boil. Then serve. The cheese may be omitted if it is not liked. 

Cream of Rice Soup. — Two quarts of chicken stock (the water in which 
fowl have been boiled will answer), one teacupful of rice, a quart of cream or milk, a 
small onion, a stalk of celery, and salt and pepper to taste. Wash rice carefully, and 
add to chicken stock, onion and celery. Cook slowly two hours (it should hardly 
bubble). Put through a sieve ; add seasoning and the milk or cream, which has 
been allowed to come just to a boil. If milk, use also a tablespoonful of butter. 

Green Pea Soup. — Cover a quart of green peas with hot water, and boil, with 
an onion until they mash easily. (The time will depend on the age of the peas ? 
but will be from twenty to thirty minutes.) Mash and add a pint of stock or water. 
Cook together two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour until smooth, but not 
brown. Add to the peas, and then add a cupful of cream and one of milk. Season 
rith salt and pepper, and let boil up once. Strain and serve. A cupful of whipped 
cream added the last moment is an improvement. 

Beef OliYes. — Take one pound of steak from the round, a little pepper 



22 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



and salt, half an ounce of clarified fat, half a pint of cold water, a dessert spoonful 
of Worcester sauce, a dessert spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a half ounce of flour, 
a dessert spoonful of chopped parsley, three tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs and one 
egg. First melt, in a small saucepan, the fat. Then put in a basin the bread crumbs, 
adding the pepper and salt, and drop in the egg, mixing well. Cut the steak into 
small pieces and with each piece roll a little of the stuffing and tie around it a piece 
of string. Whenever the fat is hot in the saucepan brown the roll on all sides. 
Put on the lid and while the rolls are browning go on with the sauce. Put in a 
small basin half an ounce of flour, and make very smooth with half a tablespoon- 
ful of cold water. When it is quite smooth add the ketchup, the Worcestershire 
sauce and a few drops of "browning," which is made of a little sugar and water. 
Now add to this the rest of the half pint of cold water. When the olives have 
browned nicely, pour off every drop of the clarified fat and poar over the gravy, 
which is cold. Stir this over the fire until it boils,, and then allow it to simmer 
slowly for an hour and a half. Always in using mushroom ketchup be careful not 
to use very much salt. 

Preserred Quinces. — Pare and quarter the fruit, and take out all the cores 
and the hard place around them. Boil the fruit in clear water until tender ; then 
spread it on towels to dry. For one pound of fruit allow half a pound of sugar, 
and one pint of water for three pounds of sugar. When the syrup is boiling hot, 
put in the fruit, and let it cook very slowly ; or, set it back on the stove so that it 
hardly cooks at all, and keep it on for an hour or more, if you can without its 
cooking to pieces — as the longer it cooks, the brighter red color it will be. Put it 
in jars and strain the syrup over it, as with other fruits. 

Preserved Grapes* — Squeeze the pulp of the grapes out of the skins. Cook 
the pulp (a few minutes) until you can press it all through a sieve. Reject the 
seeds. Add a little water to the skins, and cook until they are quite tender. Then 
put the skins and pulp together ; measure, and to each pint add a pound of sugar, 
and boil fifteen minutes. 

Crab -Apple Jelly. — Wash the fruit clean, put in a kettle, cover with water, 
and boil until thoroughly cooked. Then pour it into a sieve, and let it drain ; do 
not press it through. For each pint of this liquor allow one pound of sugar. Boil 
from twenty minutes to half an hour. 

Tomato Ketchup. — Twelve ripe tomatoes, peeled ; two large onions, four 
green peppers, chopped fine ; two tablespoonfuls of salt, two of brown sugar, two of 
ginger, one of cinnamon, one of mustard, a nutmeg, grated, four cupfuls of vine- 
gar. Boil all together till thoroughly cooked (about three hours), stirring fre- 
quently. Bottle while hot. 



24 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Cocoaimt Candy.— Two cups granulated sugar (7 cents), half cup of water. 

Boil for six minutes ; add one grated cocoanut (9 cents); as soon as the sugar is 
soft spread on white, greased papers, and when cold cut in squares. Sixteen 
cents for one pound. 

Peppermints. — One pound of granulated sugar (9 cents), enough water to 

thicken ; stir constantly for five minutes ; take off the stove and add 22 drops of 
oil of pepperment (5 cents), then beat until thick; drop on a sheet of tin; 14 
cents for one pound of candy. 

Lemon Butter. — One-and-a-half cupfuls white sugar, whites of three eggs, 
yolk of one, grated rind and juice of a lemon and a half, or two small ones ; cook 
over a slow fire twenty minutes, stirring all the while. Very nice for tarts, or to 
be eaten as preserves. 

Cream Walnuts. — Two cups granulated sugar (5 cents), half cup water. Boil 
from five to seven minutes ; then take enough of the cream, after cooling some- 
what, to make a flat, round candy ; put two walnut meats on it ; place them in a 
greased paper, set them away to harden; almost a pound for 17 cents. 

Boston Chocolate Caramels. — One pint of sugar (7 cents), dissolved in as 
little water as possible ; one-half cup of butter (6 cents); one tablespoonful of vine- 
gar, one cup of chocolate (9 cents). Boil until quite thick, put in buttered tins and 
cut in squares when partly cooled. Cost, 22 cents for one pound. 

Caramels. — Three pounds brown sugar, one-half chocolate, one-half butter, two 
tablespoonfuls of molasses, same of vinegar, one cup of cream. Boil twenty- 
five minutes ; beat ten minutes to granulate, or, if crisp is preferred, do not beat. 

Caramels. — Two cups molasses, two-thirds of a cup of sugar, half cup of milk, 

half a cake of chocolate, grated ; piece of butter size of an egg. Boil half an 
hour ; pour on buttered tins just before it cools. Square it. 

Caramels. — Two ounces of chocolate, scraped fine ; two pounds of fine sugar ; 
moisten this with water, and heat it over the fire until it runs smooth, and does not 
spread too much when dropped out, then drop on a buttered dish. 

Chocolate Cream. — Put one-half pound of grated chocolate into a pan, and stir 
until melted. Thicken with white sugar, and leave in the pan to keep warm. 

Inside Mixture. — One pound of white sugar, quarter of a teacup of cold 
water, and heat gradually until melted; add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and one-half 
teaspoonful of acetic acid, and boil until it becomes sugary, then take off, and 
when cool, roll into balls and put on buttered plates to harden. When the balls 
are cold, roll into the above mixture, and place on buttered plates to cool. 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



2! 



Receipts fob the Sick. 



Milk Porridge. — Two cups best oat meal, two cups water, two cups milk. 
Soak the oatmeal over night in the water ; strain in the morning, and boil the 
water half an hour. Put in the milk with a pinch of salt, boil up well and serve. 
Eat warm, with or without powdered sugar. 

Oat or Indian Meal Gruel. — One tablespoonful of fine Indian or oat meal, 
mixed smooth with cold water and a salt spoon of salt ; pour upon this a pint of boiling 
water and turn into a saucepan to boil gently for half an hour ; thin it with boiling 
water if it thickens too much, and stir frequently ; when it does, a tablespoonful of 
cream or a little new milk may be put in to cool it after straining, but if the pa- 
tient's stomach is weak it is best without either. Some persons like it sweetened 
and a little nutmeg added, but to many it is more palatable plain. 

Gruel and Porridge. — In preparing gruel, to one pint of milk use a small 
tablespoonful of oat meal, a small pinch of salt, a half teaspoonful of sugar and a 
piece of butter the size of a nutmeg ; place the milk in the fire, and, having soft- 
ened the meal with a little milk or water, mix it well with the milk on the stove. 
After it has boiled five minutes add the butter and sugar and strain. In making 
gruel with water, it is well to add a little port wine just before taking from the 
stove. In preparing porridge the oat meal should be placed on the stove in cold 
water. The proportion is about three tablespoonfuls of meal to a pint of water. 
It should be stirred well and boiled for half an hour. While it is boiling add a 
a little salt. 

Soft Toast. — Some invalids like this very much indeed, or nearly all do when 
it is nicely made. Toast well, but not too brown, a couple of thin slices of bread ; 
put them on a warm plate and pour over boiling water ; cover quickly with another 
plate of the same size, and drain the water off ; remove the upper plate, butter the 
toast, put it in the oven one minute, and then cover again with a hot plate and 
serve at once. 

Soft Boiled Eggs. — Fresh eggs for invalids, who like them cooked soft, should 
be put in a pan of boiling water, and set on a part of the range where they will 
not boil for several minutes. At the end of that time they will be like jelly, per- 
fectly soft, but beautifully done, and quite digestible by even weak stomachs. 



26 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Beef Tea for the Sick, — One pound lean beef, cut into small pieces. Put 
into jar without a drop of water ; cover tightly, set in a pot of cold water. Heat 
gradually to a boil, and continue this steadily for three or four hours, until the 
meat is like white rags, and the juice all drawn out. Season with salt to taste, and 
when cold, skim. The patient will often prefer this ice-cold to hot. 

Quick Beef Tea. — Beef taken from the round is best for beef tea, because it 
is almost free from fat and it contains more juice than any other part of the meat. 
After removing every particle of fat, cut the steak into small pieces, across the 
grain. This breaks the fibre and allows the juice to escape. Place the heated 
meat in a dry,, closed sauce pan, and sweat for five minutes. Sweating is simply 
heating the meat, not too hot, and stirring it occasionally to prevent its sticking. 
At the end of five minutes the pan will be found to contain a gravy, or the essence 
of the meat, which, of itself, is good for very feeble patients. At this stage pour 
over the meat its weight in cold water (the gauge being a pint of water to each 
pound of meat) ; stir until the water boils, and then simmer for fiye minutes. Do 
not add salt, unless the doctor permits it, In many diseases salt cannot be used 
without doing much harm. Strain the tea while hot, then skim the fat from the 
surface, and it is ready for use. 

Another Beef Tea. — This tea is particularly recommended where the patient is 
troubled with indigestion. Cut a quarter of a pound of steak into small pieces, as 
in the other preparation, and pour upon it a gill of cold water, and place on a very 
slow fire. It should be about twenty minutes before it comes to the boil. As soon 
as it is boiled, strain, and after it has cooled, skim off the grease with paper. It 
is then ready for use. 

Raw Beef Tea. — Take about an ounce of steak, and, holding it securely to the 
table with a fork, scrape or shred the flesh from the fibres with a sharp knife. 
Place the shredded meat in two tablespoonfuls of cold water and soak fifteen 
minutes, then strain and use. This is excellent for typhoid fever cases and teeth- 
ing children. 

Mutton or Chicken Broth. — One pound lean mutton or chicken, cut small, one 
quart water, cold, one tablespoonful rice, or barley, soaked in a very little warm water, 
four tablespoonfuls milk, salt and pepper, with a little chopped parsley. Boil the 
meat, unsalted in the water, keeping it closely covered, until it falls to pieces. 
Strain it out, add the soaked barley or rice ; simmer half an hour, stirring often ; 
stir in the seasoning and the milk, and simmer five minutes after it heats up well, 
taking care it does not burn. Serve hot, with cream crackers. 

Chicken Jelly. — Half a raw chicken, pounded with a mallet, bones and meat 

together, plenty of cold water to cover it well, about a quart. Heat slowly in a 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



2? 



covered vessel, and let it simmer until the meat is in white rags and the liquid re- 
duced one-half. Strain and press, first through a colander, then through a coarse 
cloth. Salt to taste, and pepper if you think best ; return to the fire, and simmer 
five minutes longer. Skim when cool. Give to the patient cold — just from the 
ice — with unleavened wafers. Keep on the ice. You can make into sandwiches 
by putting the jelly between thin slices of bread spread lightly with butter. 

Beefsteak and 3Illtton Chops. — Choose the tenderest cuts and broil over 
a clear hot fire with your wisest skill. Let the steak be rare, the chops well done. 
Salt and pepper ; lay between two hot plates three minutes, and serve to your pa- 
tient. If he is very weak, do not let him swallow anything except the juice, when 
he has chewed the meat well. The essence of rare beef, roasted or broiled, 
thus expressed, is considered by some physicians to be more strengthening than 
beef tea prepared in the usual manner. 

Calyes-Foot Jelly. — Boil four nicely-cleaned calves' feet in three quarts of 
water, until reduced to one, very slowly ; strain and set away until cold, then take 
off the fat from the top and remove the jelly into a stew pan, avoiding the settlings, 
and adding one-half a pound of white powdered sugar, the juice of two lemons, 
and the whites of two eggs, the latter to make it transparent. Boil all together a 
few moments and set away in bowls or glasses ; it is excellent in a sick room. 

White Wine Whey. — For this nutritious article of diet use half pint of milk, 
one wineglassful of sherry wine and one teaspoonful of sugar. Place the milk in 
a saucepan, and while it is heating on the fire mix in the sugar. As soon as it 
boils add the sherry wine. This will curdle the milk, which should be strained at 
once. The whey should be given to the patient hot. 

Drinks for the Sick. — Wash clean one ounce of barley ; put it into one quart 
of water. Simmer it an hour. When done, add sugar and lemon to taste, or wine 
if you choose. 

A refreshing drink for the sick can be made by pouring boiling water over fruits 
or tamarinds, and allow to stand until cold, then strain and they are fit for use. 



2^ 



Things Worth Knowing. 



Cement, — Mix thoroughly rice flour with cold water, and gently simmer it over 
the fire, when it readily forms a delicate and durable cement, not only answering 
the purpose of common paste, but admirably adapted to join together paper, card, 
etc. When made of the consistency of plastic clay, models, busts, basso-relievos, 
etc., may be formed, and the articles when dry resemble white marble, and will 
take a high polish, being very durable. Any coloring matter may be used at 
pleasure. 

To Remove Ink from Carpets. — When freshly-spilled, ink can be removed 
from carpets by wetting in milk. Take cotton batting and soak up all of the ink 
that it will receive, being careful not to let it spread. Then take fresh cotton wet 
in milk, and sop it up carefully. Repeat this operation, changing cotton and milk 
each time. After most of the ink has been taken up in this way, with fresh cotton 
and clean, rub the spot. Continue until all disappears ; then wash the spot in 
clean, warm water and a little soap, rinse in clear water, and rub until nearly dry. 
For ink spots on marble, wood or paper, apply ammonia clear ; just wetting the 
spot repeatedly till the ink disappears. 

To Press Silk. — First sprinkle the silk with water, then roll it up tightly in a 
towel and let it rest for an hour or two. If the iron is the least hot, it wili injure 
the color ; and it should be tried on an old piece of the same silk. Bright-colored 
silks or ribbons, such as pinks, blues, yellows, greens, etc., always change color 0:1 
application of a hot iron. Blacks, browns, olives, grays, look very well after iron- 
ing. Black silks should be washed in cold coffee or tea to restore them from rusti 
ness. 

HOTY to Make Blacking". — Ivory black, four ounces ; one tablespoonful of 
sweet oil; molasses, one gill ; mix these well. Add one and one-half pint of good 
vinegar; one ounce oil vitriol; the juice of one lemon, and one ounce of lavender. 
Mix well. 

To Prevent Flat-irons from Sticking. — If the irons are rough or smoky, 
lay a little fine salt on a flat surface, and rub them well ; this will prevent them 
from sticking to any starched article, and make them smooth 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



29 



To Prevent Flies from Lighting* on Glasses and Frames.— Boil three or 

four onions in a pint of water. With a gilding brush wash over your articles. No 
injury will result from its use. 

To Cleanse the Inside of Jars. — Fill up the jar with hot water, and then 
stir in a teaspoonful or more of soda or saleratus. Whatever there is impure around 
or about the jar will soon float loose through the water, empty it and if the bad 
odor remains fill again with water, adding soda, and let it stand some hours, and 
then empty it, and rinse with cold water. 

To Preserve Green Peas for Winter Use. — Shell them ; and put them 

into a kettle of water to boil. After they have just boiled up, pour them into the 
colander. When drained, turn them out on a cloth, and cover them with another, 
to dry. You can put them in a warm oven to finish drying, and then put them in 
bags or bottles. When to be used, soak them an hour in water, and then put them 
on in cold water and a little salt to boil tender. Serve them as fresh peas. 

Antidote for Poison. — A desert-spoonful of made mustard mixed in a tum- 
bler of warm water, and drank immediately. It acts as an instantaneous emetic. 

How to Make Tooth Powder. — One ounce pale Peruvian bark ; one ounce 
pulverized orris root ; one half ounce prepared chalk ; one quarter ounce myrrh. 

To Remove the Black Dye from the Skin (occasioned by wearing 

mourning in hot weather). — One-half ounce of cream of tartar; one-half ounce of 
oxalic acid. Mix and pound them together in a mortar. Put some of this mix- 
ture in a gallicup, and moisten it slightly with a little water, to prevent it after 
a while becoming thick and hard, and cover it closely. To use it : wet the black 
stains on your skin with water, and then with your finger rub in a little of the 
mixture. Then i?)i7nediately wash it off with water, and afterwards use soap and 
water. Do not swallow any of this mixture, as it is a poison. 

To Remove Tan. — Tan may be removed from the face by mixing magnesia in 
soft water to the consistency of paste, which should then be spread on the face and 
allowed to remain a minute or two. Then wash off with castile-soap suds, and 
rinse with soft water. 

To Starch Shirt Bosoms and Collars. — Pour a pint of boiling water upon 

two ounces of gum arabic, cover it and let it stand over night. A tablespoonful 
of this gum arabic water, stirred into a pint of starch made in the usual manner, 
will give to lawns, either white or printed, a look of newness when nothing else 
can restore them. To every pint of starch add a piece of spermaceti candle the size 
of a chestnut. 



50 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



Interest. — Short Method : Multiply amount by number of days (counting 
30 days to each month) — for interest in cents at 6 per cent, divide by 60 ; for 7 
per cent, increase this result by J; for 8 per cent, divide first result by 45 ; 9 per cent., 
by 40; 10 per cent., by 36; 12 per cent., by 30; Another Method : Reduce 
years to months, add in months, if any, to of the days, and set to right of 
months in decimal form ; multiply result by ^ principal, and you have interest at 
6 percent, in cents. For 7 per cent, increase this by ^; for 8, by ^ ; for 9, by 
*4 ; for 10, by ; for 12, double it, etc. 

Capacity of Boxes. — A box 4 feet 7 inches long, 2 feet 4 inches wide, 2 feet 
4 inches deep, holds 20 bushels ; a box 24x16 in. x 28 in., 5 bushels ; box inches, 
24x11.2x8, I bushel; box, inches, 12x11, 2x8. ^ bushel; box, inches, 8x8.4x8, 1 
peck; box, inches, 8x8x4.2, I gallon; box, inches, 4x4x4.2, I quart. A cylinder 
18^ inches inside diameter, 8 inches deep, contains U. S. standard bushel. Any 
box containing the same number of cubic inches will hold same quantity as above 
sizes. To obtain a box holding any portion or multiple of above quantities, divide 
or multiply any one dimension of the box accordingly. 

To PreYeilt tile Spreading of Contagion. — Nitrous acid possesses tne prop- 
erties of destroying the contagion of typhus fevers and other malignant disorders. 
Place a little saltpetre on a saucer, and pour on it as much oil of vitriol as will just 
cover it. The quantity of gas may be regulated by the ingredients used. 

To Make Shoes TTater-Proof. — This recipe is equally applicable to the 
coarsest brogan as well as to the delicate French slippers of the lady. Put between 
the sole leathers, and an inch or more up the sides, and over the toes, two thick • 
nesses of oiled silk. Let the glazed sides come together, so as to stick fast to each 
other. This will render shoes water-proof. 

Testing Eggs in Water. — Major Butler, of the Royal Irish Rifles, gives the 
following simple rules for finding out the condition of eggs : In order to ascertain 
the condition of an egg, the simplest plan is to place it in cold water (lukewarm if 
required afterwards for sitting). A perfectly fresh egg sinks, and lies on its side. 
A slightly-incubated egg sinks, but stands up at the bottom of the water on its 
small end. An incubated egg — say after it has been set upon a week, or a day or 
two longer — floats large end uppermost, but low in the water. An egg much incu- 
bated floats also, and in the same position as the last, but higher out of water. If 
the embryo is living, if watched when placed in lukewarm water, the egg will be 
observed to move occasionally, like a float bobbing when a fish is nibbling at the 
bait, and placing the egg in warm water will not injure the chicken inside. Addled 
eggs rattle when shaken, as if full of water, and float, but with either end upwards ; 
but when the contents become dried up, as in the case of stale eggs, they float also, 



HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION. 



31 



but usually out of the perpendicular — i. e. 9 inclining to one side, and invariably in 
the same position — that is, always the same side upwards. The reason that incu 
bated and addled eggs float is obvious enough. As incubation proceeds, the air- 
chamber at the large end, which at first is very small, increases gradually day by 
day as the egg becomes hard-set;' and the larger the air-chamber gets, the higher 
naturally the egg floats on the surface of the water. Addled eggs float on either 
end, because the contents are loose and sink to the bottom of the shell, whichever 
way the egg may be held, leaving a vacuum at the opposite end, in consequence 
of which the egg floats. Stale eggs, when the contents have become dry, naturally 
float with that side downwards to which the yolk adheres. 

To Press Satin. — All satin goods should be pressed on the right side. 



J 



